VANCOUVER — Oliver Wahlstrom knows how to shoot. The 24-year-old right-shot wing snaps off heavy and accurate pucks. The New York Islanders thought highly enough of Wahlstrom’s puck-launching skill to take him No. 11 overall in 2018.
Six years later, the Islanders thought poorly enough of Wahlstrom (two goals on 30 shots) to place him on waivers on Friday. It remains to be seen whether Wahlstrom, claimed by the Boston Bruins a day later, can dust off his scoring touch for his new club.
“The one thing that sticks to my mind is a good shot,” interim coach Joe Sacco said on Saturday. “A guy that can probably score some goals. Pretty good on the elbow or in the bumper on the power play because of that shot that he has.”
Wahlstrom was raised in Maine. He spent time in Quincy. Wahlstrom, who played at the National Team Development Program, gave commitments to Maine and Harvard before landing at Boston College for one season. He is best known for his highlight goal at TD Garden when he was a squirt.
FULL CIRCLE MOMENT 🫶
Oliver Wahlstrom, who turned heads at TD Garden with jaw-dropping goals as a nine-year-old, was claimed by the Bruins today.
(🎥: @NESN) pic.twitter.com/LoEBUXogS2
— BarDown (@BarDown) December 14, 2024
Wahlstrom is on a one-year, $1 million deal. He will be restricted at year’s end.
Wahlstrom’s high-water mark was in 2021-22. In 73 games, the right wing scored 13 goals and 11 assists for then-coach Barry Trotz.
But he appeared in only 35 games the following season for Lane Lambert. This year, coach Patrick Roy gave Wahlstrom only 10:04 of average ice time per game.
Despite his pedigree, Wahlstrom has yet to put it together as a pro. Time will tell whether the shock of changing organizations will bring Wahlstrom to life.
Perhaps Wahlstrom’s most significant shortcoming has been his play when the puck hasn’t gone in. He has not killed penalties. He is not known for his defensive work. He isn’t the fastest skater. Wahlstrom is a pure goal scorer, which is a difficult designation for a player who has only two tucks to his name.
“He’s got to find his ice out there for sure,” Sacco said. “Whether it’s off the rush or in zone, he’s got to be able to create some space for himself, just like goal scorers do in this league. I’m not comparing him to other people. But if he’s going to be a guy that can help us offensively, he’s got to find his ice in the offensive zone. He’s got to make sure that off the rush, he’s putting the puck toward the net. Any opportunities he has, we want to see if we can build confidence from him offensively as well.”
The Bruins are desperate for scoring. They have 49 five-on-five goals. Only five clubs have less.
The Boston Bruins put 34 shots on goal on Thursday against the Seattle Kraken. According to Natural Stat Trick, they were expected to outscore the Kraken at five-on-five, 2.5 to 2.19. David Pastrnak led all players with 14 all-situations attempts, six of which landed on net.
Brad Marchand didn’t care about any of it.
“Shots don’t mean anything if they’re not going in the net,” the Bruins captain said after the 5-1 loss. “If you’re giving up five goals, that, I guess, is one of the positives you can look at. You can say we had a lot of shots and we had more opportunities than they did. But they had a lot of Grade-A’s, it looked like. It felt like (Joonas Korpisalo) had to make a lot of big saves. We just can’t give up that many goals. Definitely doesn’t make me feel better about the game.”
The Bruins have dropped the first two games of their five-stop trip. It’s not just that they’ve been outscored by the Kraken and Winnipeg Jets, 13-2.
Following 40 percent of their swing, the Bruins have yet to score a five-on-five goal.
Against the Jets, Pastrnak hammered a deflected one-timer over Connor Hellebuyck’s glove. Two nights later, Marchand slipped a penalty shot through Philipp Grubauer’s pillows. But Hellebuyck and Grubauer had no trouble stuffing all 47 of the Bruins’ five-on-five shots.
Sacco did not know when Walhstrom would join the team. The Bruins are scheduled to fly to Calgary on Saturday following their game against the Vancouver Canucks. Their next game is on Tuesday against the Flames.
Sacco has yet to determine where Walhstrom would play once he arrives. Justin Brazeau is currently the No. 2 right wing behind Pastrnak. Mark Kastelic and Tyler Johnson have most recently played on the third line with Trent Frederic and Charlie Coyle.
“If he’s going to be a guy that can help us offensively, he’s going to have to be put in a role where he has an opportunity,” Sacco said. “Maybe that’s somewhere up in the lineup. We’ll see. Could be the third line with Coyle and Freddy.”
Meanwhile, Jake DeBrusk, formerly the Bruins’ No. 2 right wing, has exploded for the Canucks. The ex-Bruin has scored 11 goals in his last 10 games.
DeBrusk leads Vancouver with 14 goals. Marchand is the Bruins’ top scorer with 12.
“Obviously he’s got the speed,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “But he’s going downhill at the right time and he’s picking up loose change. I knew he was very good at tipping pucks. I didn’t know it was that well. There’s some hard shots coming from anywhere. Somehow he gets a stick on it and it’s changing direction. Around the paint is something he really wanted to concentrate (on) after the first month. Obviously off the rush, he’s a good rush guy. But to me, it’s around the net where he’s taken his game to another level.”
(Photo: Steven Bisig / Imagn Images)
